The Housepet Games: Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine"That was awesome!" Grape exclaimed as she opened
her eyes, finding herself and her friends in her living room once again.
"Best game ever!""I can't believe I got killed by a toy breed," Max grumbled, pouting."Oh, shut up!" Bino spat, turning his back on the others out of spite."Remind me never to play pretend with you guys again," King said, still shivering with fright."I've got to admit," Fox said, "that was a lot more fun that I thought it would be- even if I didn't win.""That's because Peanut won!" Grape whooped. "Three cheers for our champion!"But before they could celebrate his victory, Peanut stood up, without a word, and left the room."Peanut?" Grape called after him. "Where are you going?"Peanut didn't respond, but she heard his bedroom door slam shut."What's wrong with him?" the cat asked, turning to look at the rest of the group."Stupid mutt," Bino grumbled. "He won the game, and now he thinks he's too good for us.""He seemed a bit upset at the end of the game, didn't he?" Fox suggested, thumping Bino on the back of the head."Yeah, but why would he be?" Grape asked. "I mean, he won the game!""You need to go talk to him," Tarot said, standing up."About what? I thought he was having a great time!"Tarot
sighed, "I think we got carried away, Grape," she said. "You don't
understand just how big an impact that game had on him."Before Grape
could question her again, Tarot turned and ushered the other pets out
of the house before turning and giving the cat one last meaningful look.Now
alone in her living room, Grape sighed and made her way to Peanut's
room. What did the silly pup have to get upset about? She was happy,
and she hadn't even won!"Peanut?" she called, knocking on his door.
There was no response, but she could hear Weird Al playing on the other
side. Grape rolled her eyes. She could never understand the spoof
artist's appeal, but he was like a musical therapist for Peanut. What's
more, he never played him unless he was really upset. Reaching out,
Grape opened the door."Because I'm fat, I'm fat, ham on, really
really fat!" the CD sang. Peanut was sitting on the edge of his bed,
his back to the door, staring at the floor. If he was aware that Grape
had come in, he didn't show it."Peanut?" Grape asked, sitting down next to him. "What's wrong?""Nothing's wrong," Peanut said, "I'm just tired after playing that game.""Come on," Grape insisted, "you can't hide it from me! Just tell me what's bothering you."Peanut looked up at Grape, and for the first time she noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, as if he'd been crying."I- I couldn't take it," Peanut said, his voice choking up."What couldn't you take?" Grape asked."Bino shooting you with that arrow."Grape gave a quick laugh, "Is that all? Peanut, that was the point of the whole game! Last one alive wins, remember?""I know," Peanut nodded, "but when it actually happened, I... It hurt, Grape."Grape eyed the dog curiously, "What hurt?""Seeing
you die," Peanut answered, as if it were the most obvious answer in the
world. "I saw an arrow go through your heart, and there was nothing I
could do to save you. I know it wasn't real, but it LOOKED real, and
all I could think about was... was..." His voice trailed off, and he looked
the other direction."All you could think was what?" Grape encouraged him.Peanut
turned back to look at her, and now she could see that he WAS crying.
Rivers of tears trailed down his cheeks, staining his light brown fur."That I had actually lost you," he answered.Before Grape could respond, Peanut had thrown his arms around her, hugging her to him in a tight embrace."Grape,"
he said, his voice muffled by his face being pressed into her shoulder,
"if I lost you, I don't know what I would do. You're the best friend
I've ever had. More than that, you're my sister! If you were to die,
I... I..."Grape could feel tears stinging her own eyes now, and she
gratefully returned the hug, "Peanut, Peanut, Peanut," she said
soothingly, stroking the back of his head the way she knew he liked.
"You have no idea how much that means to me.""I'm sorry I couldn't save you in there," Peanut said, raising his head to look at her."It's
not your fault, silly pup!" Grape chuckled. "I should have been paying
more attention. But for what it's worth, thank you.""For what?" Peanut asked in confusion."For
getting revenge on Bino for me!" Grape exclaimed, jumping up from the
bed. "I saw the whole thing. You were AWESOME!" Grape began
reenacting the scene for him, doing horrible impressions of his and
Bino's voices."Ooh, please, Peanut! Don't kill me! You're so big and strong and I'm so stupid!""You killed my sister, you son of a flea!""But it's just a game!""Yes, and you lose!"With
that Grape fell over backwards with a comical scream before breaking
down into manic laughter. When she looked up, she was pleased to see
that Peanut was smiling again."We need to do this again sometime!"
she suggested, getting to her feet. "We can bring Sabrina, Fido, and
all the Mr. Bigglesworths over!"Peanut sighed, but the smile did not leave his face, "I think I'm going to have to pass on that," he said."Why?" Grape asked. "You're not still upset, are you?""No,
it's not that," Peanut answered, fishing for something under his
pillow. "I just thought of an even better game we could play!""Yeah, what's that?" Grape asked."This," Peanut pulled a DVD box out from under his pillow and handed it to her."The Matrix, huh?" Grape mused. "Looks interesting..."
To Be Continued?